From one EP and a handful of remixes and collaborations, MAO have garnered support from the likes of Vice, iD, Dummy, Earmilk, Oneman, Untold, Pangea and beyond for their distinct take on forward-thinking soulful, electronic music.

For an anonymous duo from Brighton, MAO have so far attracted an impressive and growing band of collaborators including 14th, Lulu James, Mumdance, Marin, Dems and Seasfire – a disparate, but like-minded bunch who share their genre-defying passion.

It’s this ability to make ‘MAO-music’, rather than provide a generic A&R-led formula, that’s led to remix requests for Mad Decent’s Zebra Katz, Maribou State, Alex Barck and The Bloody Beetroots featuring Theophilus London.

Leftfield, but with an eye on the main-stage, MAO’s wide-screen sound is a compelling mixture of sub bass, textured soul, lush strings, and futuristic synths – as neo-modernist as the artwork they curate for their releases. The bass-heavy bump of ‘Black Narcissus’ is a prime example of their production prowess, the track will accompany their new single, ‘Ways Of Seeing’ feat 14th, released on 2 June on Uschii Music. download now

Following her curation of the Untold Songs project released by JusLike Music in aid of Amnesty International (featuring Ursula Rucker, Heidi Vogel, Vula, Ahu, Ruby Wood, Baby Sol and Stac)it’s a huge pleasure to finally release Belle’s debut EP.
The production, from WotNot’s own K15, is littered with musical influences – from the obvious 90s neo-soul and hip-hop references to bass, dub and even jungle – and the flawless balance between Belle and her collaborator is the key to this release. This is illustrated by the neck-snapping beat of Infinity, countered by a graceful, undulating lead vocal over gloriously dubbed-out backing vocals.

The skippy, two-step flavoured neo-soul of It’s All Made Up, with its big gospel-tinged crescendos,sounds like a young Destiny’s Child hitting the studio with a CMYK-era James Blake.
Title track Lapwing contrasts rhythmic, meditative marimbas and Rhodes with a smoky, lyrical vocal over more dub-style backing vocals; here the beats sit back and lets the building layers of harnonies steer.
The full-on 90s neo-soul throwback of We Once Were, complete with hints of jungle that finally rise to the top for an exhilarating final minute, highlights the strength of Belle’s vocals and songwriting; while the influences are clear, the result is unique.
K15’s signature production style should excite any avid music fan about his upcoming WotNot release, with its perfectly measured bass lines, head-nod rhythms and subtle jazz-soul influence.
The sense of space throughout the release leaves you aching for more of Belle’s soul-searching vocals as she balances her dynamic range with subtle jazz inflections – hopefully something we won’t have to wait too long to hear more of.

One sweaty hot week in July 2013, Untold ripped into creating his new album, Black Light Spiral, having discovered a land so full of jolts and thrills that the beats wrote themselves and the sounds just kept on coming.

The final 40 minute, 8 track album, is as true to the furious and fiery journey Untold (aka Jack Dunning) personally went on as you could hope for. It’s unhindered, spontaneous and completely raw. As perfectly imperfect as a trip like this should be.

And you’ll be left gasping for air. Wondering “what the fuck is this music I’ve just heard?” Which is classic Untold. We’ve come to expect the unexpected from him.

From day one, with tracks like Kingdom, Anaconda and Stop What You’re Doing, Untold has been an inventor and tastemaker. Today with two iconic record labels to his name, Hemlock and Pennyroyal, his imagination and openness to the new strides on.

And Black Light Spiral, Untold’s first album released on Hemlock, continues in the same spirit. It delivers on Untold’s mission to keep the people up and at it with rough tough music while confounding them with brilliantly executed improbabilities.

Untold was raised on Jungle and Hardcore, has travelled through Dubstep and leftfield Techno and now he’s arrived here where he’s playing with sub bass, sirens, reggae samples and broken rhythms. But this isn’t token rave revivalism.

Because while Untold may be experienced in the best raw genres dance music has to offer, he has no desire to defer back ad infinitum. He’s in it for pushing boundaries. So Black Light Spiral is entirely new.

STREAMSing A Love Song
Taken from the forthcoming album ‘Black Light Spiral’.
Released 24th February 2014 on Hemlock Recordings.

In a world where illegal downloads, cracked software and sync buttons are helping to create swarms of young DJs with bottomless libraries of digital music they’re vaguely familiar with, you might question the role and relevance of the specialist DJ in today’s musical landscape. Not everyone possesses the talent, care and breadth of taste required to project their personality through other people’s records, or to create narratives which transcend dancefloors; Ben UFO is someone who does. Over the years Ben has increased in confidence and proficiency, and in devoting himself to highlighting the shared characteristics between and beyond 2-step garage, dubstep, classic house and techno, he has learned to expertly navigate and bridge tempos and genres in as natural a fashion as possible, allowing tracks from disparate areas to co-exist and function comfortably alongside one another to form a unique and well-defined aesthetic.

Moving to Leeds to study in 2004, Ben applied for a show on student radio but was declined a slot – a setback which he identifies as setting him on his path towards establishing Hessle Audio as a record label and DJing in club environments. As a result he pitched for a show on SubFM alongside David Kennedy (Pearson Sound) and Kevin McAuley (Pangaea), naming the show after the club night he and Kevin had started with several of their friends (Ruffage) in order to promote dubstep in Leeds, at a time when the genre had very little representation outside of London and Bristol. The radio show ran for three years, at which point they were offered a regular slot on RinseFM, where they continue to broadcast twice a month.

In 2007, after finishing university, the three friends started Hessle Audio. The label was formed with the idea of providing a platform for the release of Pangaea and Pearson Sound’s own records, but its scope quickly expanded, resulting in the release of genre-defying records by Objekt, Untold, Cosmin TRG, James Blake, Blawan and more. In May 2009 they started their residency at Fabric, which has been ongoing ever since. The club night reflects what they do as a record label and as DJs, showcasing expansive, varied lineups and drawing connections between artists as diverse as Kassem Mosse, Kode 9, Livity Sound and Randall.

“A release like this seems like a good opportunity to contextualise music for people at a time where information is spread pretty chaotically, and this mix is hopefully a good representation of how the music we release relates to the music we play in clubs.” Ben UFO

The primary purpose of this FABRICLIVE release is to represent exactly what Ben does as a DJ, and to give him the opportunity to showcase the different aspects of the music that he stands for. Accordingly, it is not a straightforward mix of house, bass music or techno; neither is it filled with exclusives or unreleased material. It is an indicator of where we are at and where we have come from, and a statement of intent. It is a considered and highly textured mix consisting of 28 tracks and traversing multiple styles.

Emerging from the moody introversion of Mix Mup’s “Before (Dub),” the mix starts in earnest with an aggressively distorted cut from Delroy Edwards, which bleeds into the off-kilter rhythms and sub-bass intensity of an exclusive from Pev & Kowton. From there we’re thrown into the bizarre future-tribal world of DJ Sotofett remixing Tim ‘Love’ Lee’s “The Tortoise” and onwards through tracks and decades, as Chicago Skyway’s “It’s OK” combines with K-Hand, Fluxion, Jam City, Pearson Sound and Mr. Fingers. There are truly inspired transitions here: the acid tones of “Zug Island” by Kyle Hall & Kero drip languidly over Shackleton vs Kasai Allstars’ “Mukuba Special”; the shattered percussion of A Made Up Sound’s “Malfunction” is pulled into line by the loop-driven techno of Grain’s “Untitled”; the dissonant bassline drone of Pangaea’s “Release” swallows up and consumes whole the kick-drum barrage which defines Blawan’s “And Both His Sons.”

With Hessle Audio releases represented heavily alongside labels such as L.I.E.S., Hinge Finger, Night Slugs, Hemlock and Eglo, there are clear indications of a tightly-knit community working collectively to push things forward. Ben is central to this movement, and with this mix he manages to communicate not just who he is and what he does, but ultimately where we are at.